Corporate & Social Investment & Development
The mindset of Phoenix Risk Solutions is to always help, guide and mentor wherever and whenever possible. As a result of this company culture, there are ongoing investments in corporate and social development, as we do our best to live up to this ethos.
A few of our current projects include:
We provide guidance and training under the year-long Insurance Sector Education and Training Authority (INSETA) Learnership Programme. The programme runs over a 12-month, 1 500-hour period and we currently have five learners on the INSETA programme at our Tokai head office. This learnership is a poverty alleviation and skills development programme. It consists of both practical and theoretical components, and the structure of the programme is set out under the auspices of the government initiative, the National Skills Development strategy. The learnership programme is accredited by the South African Qualification Authority (SAQA) because it is unit-standard based. This important programme allows the youth to gain experience in an industry that they may possibly not have been exposed to under different circumstances.
Investment in our people is fundamental to our success. Staff are encouraged and assisted to further their education and to maintain their Continuous Professional Development (CPD) status. As exceptional people with exceptional skills, a myriad of structured, innovative and creative education and CPD programmes are pursued.
Each year, the Insurance Institute of the Western Cape arranges the RISE mentorship programme, which is a nine-month personal mentorship programme between a seasoned insurance professional and a younger person (under the age of 35). The programme is about personal development and the development of soft skills, as well as technical expertise. Henriette Marais from our Phoenix IDRS office in Somerset West is partaking in the programme this year as a mentee.
As we value the power of education, we are also involved in enrichment programmes outside of the insurance industry. We are a major sponsor of the Amy Foundation, which is focused on the enrichment of the youth in disadvantaged areas through educational, cultural, sports and other activities in the Western Cape. Daily, over 1 000 children and youth partake in programmes run by the Amy Foundation.
Phoenix Risk Solutions also contributes to the following organisations on a monthly basis:
One of our directors employed a part-time domestic worker who had a young son. The domestic worker passed away suddenly, and the small boy was left orphaned. The director contacted the boy’s aunt who was willing to raise the little boy. All the Phoenix directors stepped in and agreed to pay his living expenses and education costs until he reached adulthood. The boy was supported through his schooling at Fish Hoek Primary and then his high school career, as a boarder at Groote Schuur High School. During this time, he often spent school holidays with the director for whom his mother had worked.
This young man is now in the last years of his tertiary education at Rosebank College in Cape Town. He continues to be financially supported by Phoenix Risk Solutions and to spend vacations with his mother’s previous employer.
Acting Angels is a poverty-alleviation NPO that focuses on the very young and the very elderly.
The Good Hope Foundation is a non-sectarian organisation that runs several outreach programmes in the greater Western Cape area.
The Breast Care Foundation provides support to those affected by breast cancer and assists with early detection. The foundation also assists with awareness of HIV.
Phoenix Risk Solutions’ Tokai offices have partnered with Seaview Park Primary School on several initiatives under the auspices of the Phoenix Risk Solutions social clubs. These initiatives have included sanitary pad collection drives, school holiday care package deliveries to children in the school and the delivery of stationery to learners at the school.
These fundraisers are permanent initiatives that are spearheaded by Phoenix Risk Solutions’ staff, which once again underpins that all within the Phoenix group care about our planet and its inhabitants.
